C e n t r a l C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h

A N ot e f r om P ast o r Bi l l R uss e l l D e c emb e r, 201 2

NEWS FROM THE PEWS

www.cccmemphistn.org

Hope. Love. Joy. Peace. Those are the four Sundays upcoming as we

begin our Advent journey. This is a journey where we will be looking

backward, at Jesus' first coming some 2000 years ago, and a journey

where we will look forward to His return to this earth. So much happens

around us at this time of year that we find it difficult to focus on what the

commotion is all about. I find it helpful, when my stress level goes crazy,

just to repeat those four words: Hope, Love, Joy, Peace. Those four things

are part of what Christ brought to earth, and the Good News is that He

left them for us when he returned to His father. Today, in the world we

live in, they are not yet fully realized. What the excitement of Advent

should be about is the promise that He gave us, that He would return,

and that when He does, Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace will be a great part of

the glory around Him and that His children will live in the light of that

glory forever.

I would encourage each of you, as you look for the best bargains, as you

hear the beautiful carols, as you enjoy your families, as you cook and eat

and fellowship together, and as you slowly run out of energy, to once a

day slowly repeat, aloud, or silently, a mantra for Advent: "Hope, Love,

Joy, Peace. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Expectantly, Bill

The DWM hardly had time to enjoy the glow of the results of An Autumn Evening in Central Gardens when they once

again set records with the bake sale on election day. Pat and her crew ran out of food by 2:00, but not before they made

right at $1400.00. Of that, $1000.00 went directly to Dr. John and Judy Lang for the work that they do side-by-side

with Rachel's Kids. Other news, young Clay Artman proudly showed off the picture of the very first deer that he bagged,

and, his father Rob, was grinning healthily, too. The Artman ladies, Mary, Mickey, and Debra (Goodnight), are enjoying

a cruise as this is printed, celebrating Debra's birthday. The Butts enjoyed a long visit from their son who lives in Cali-

fornia, and it was good to have them back in worship this past Sunday. And, John and Linda Johnson's faces were

breaking with pride and happiness with their new granddaughter in church. We all rejoice with Shula Cangelosi in her

good news about various health tests which she passed with flying colors. Coffee continues to be served in the Narthex

on Sunday mornings starting at 10:00, and there might be doughnuts there, too. It is perfectly all right to bring them

into worship, and have a little "Coffee with the parson." And, the parson wants to remind everyone of the Christmas

open house that he and Anne are hosting for their CCC family. The open house will be Sunday, December 9, from 5:00

until 7:00, and everyone is invited. If night driving is not your thing, we will get you there and home. We will make it

work. Advent is here. Be sure to notice the magnificent new addition to our church's decorations, courtesy of Floyd

Scarberry. Hope, Love, Joy, Peace. Four Sundays to gloriously celebrate His coming. Be in your pew; don't miss the

blessing He has for you.

Joy, Peace and Love Angels

IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE BANNER

BY E-MAIL CONTACT GEORGE GOOD-

NIGHT AT 901-497-4385 or by e-mail

at: wesalsdadd@hotmail.com.

All contributions for The Banner

must be with the Church Secretary

by the last Wednesday of the Month

John Bennett, in a recent Offertory message, told the story

of MaryBeth Melendez from Staten Island, an area badly

hit by hurricane Sandy. MaryBeth, a mature student and

divorced mother of three children, responded to the disas-

ter by calling her student friends, who still had power, and

between them they prepared dozens of meals and emptied

their closets to provide clothing. They set up tables in one

of the worst hit areas and started to distribute the food and

clothing. Before long The National Guard made them the

focus of a distribution point for bottled water and other

emergency supplies.

What makes this story more amazing is that MaryBeth is

blind and only received the help of a seeing dog within the

past year.

She commented that she felt blessed by God that she is

blind as, while she “can’t see the broken homes she can see

into broken hearts”

John’s prayer was very simple, “God please help us to have

the generosity of spirit of MaryBeth Melendez.

Recent Offertory Message

Nativity Scene

Jim Bishop, in his book The Day

Christ Died, wrote that as our Sav-

ior died for us on that cross, most

people carried on with their every-

day lives.

This 20ft x 12 ft Nativity scene, is

from an Italian Church. It is not a

painting but figurines behind glass.

Note in the bottom right hand cor-

ner the depiction of people having a

meal close to the spot where our

Savior was born. In other words

going about their usual business

oblivious to the presence of their

Lord.

Our visitors in November

We are truly blessed to have an increasing

number of visitors to worship with us each

Sunday.

Our visitors last month included John and

Linda Johnson’s daughter Lyndi her husband

Brad and their baby girl Braelyn

We also had a visit from Kelly Salazar grand-

daughter of Betty Jones together with Kelly’s

daughter Minor.

Dr. John and Judy Lang from The Compassion

Clinic also worshipped with us.

We had many other visitors who did not leave

us their details but to all our visitors, thank

you and please worship with us again.

Congratulations to John and

Linda Johnson on becoming

Grandparents again on the

birth of a daughter Braelyn

to their son Brad and daugh-

ter-in-law Lyndi.

Congratulations also to Ra-

chel Woodall who has taken

up her appointment as Sen-

ior Minister at Battery Park

Christian Church in Rich-

mond Virginia. We all know

she will be a great success

and wish her a happy and

blessed ministry.

Congratulations What is Boxing Day?

While not a term commonly used in the

USA, Boxing Day is celebrated in other

parts of the world on the December

26th or Saint Stephens Day.

It was the day when the collection boxes

inside churches were emptied and the

contents distributed to the poor of the

parish.It was, and still is, in some plac-

es the day when employees, garbage

men and other service suppliers were

given their Christmas boxes.

It is also a day for

many sporting

events and the

Boxing Day Fox

Hunt always

d r aw s l a r g e

crowds.

Anonymous Poem: Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? .......What do you

see?

What are you thinking......when you're look-

ing at me?

A crabby old man, ....not very wise,

Uncertain of habit ........with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food.......and makes no

reply.

When you say in a loud voice....."I do wish

you'd try!"

Who seems not to notice ....the things that

you do.

And forever is losing .............. a sock or

shoe?

Who, resisting or not...........lets you do as

you will,

With bathing and feeding ....... the long day

to fill?

Is that what you're thinking? Is that what

you see?

Then open your eyes, nurse......you're not

looking at me.

Highlights from the November 15 Board Meeting are as follows:

Total Income: $8,040

Total Expenses: $8,333

Net Income/Expense: $ (292)

Note: $3351 included in Total Income is from credit card sales and belongs to the

DWM.

The 2013 Balanced Budget has been approved by the Board and will be presented to

the Congregation.

We will continue to serve coffee prior to Services in the Narthex and fellowship will

resume in Fellowship Hall after services.

Connie Bennett and Linda Johnson will host a light breakfast for the Christmas deco-

rating crew and the deacons that assist in scraping the fence surrounding Penny’s

Chapel Garden on December 1st.

The Sanctuary Lighting Project will proceed in order to have it completed by Christ-

mas

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Johnson, Board Secretary

Thought for the Month BUILDING FROM THE BOARD

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.

What can we say to add to the smiles on the faces of

some of the families who received our thanksgiving

Baskets. Sufficient food was donated to provide thir-

teen families with their Thanksgiving dinner and

more! Monetary donations enabled over 20 more

Baskets to be distributed. A huge thank you to all who

contributed and a special thank you to the African

Violets Group, who use our facilities, for their very

kind donation.

Thanksgiving Baskets

Who was the Original Father Christmas

Father Christmas appears in many forms nowadays. Usually portrayed as a jovial

stout man dressed in red, with white fur trimmings and black belt, with a white

beard. This image owes more to a 19th century cartoon with the colors being later

added by Coca Cola marketing. In Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” he is de-

scribed as a large jolly man dressed in a long green coat with a garland of greenery

around his head and this is how he is still perceived by many in Europe.

However the best candidate for the title “Father Christmas” is a 4th century Chris-

tian Bishop, Saint Nicholas of Myra, a town in, what is now, Turkey. He was famous

for his generous gifts to the poor and helping impoverished girls with dowries. He is

now the patron Saint of children as well as many other diverse groups such as arch-

ers, sailors, and pawnbrokers.

His remains are in a church in Bari in Italy, a present day pilgrimage site.

Located in Binghamton, The Compassion Clinic,

is a free primary care clinic for the people in the

area and helps to educate them on managing their

own basic health needs. Dr. Lang and his wife Ju-

dy, a registered nurse, began the non profit Com-

passion Neighborhood Clinic in 2009 after Judy

read an article in the Commercial Appeal about

another non-profit group in the Binghampton area,

Rachel's Kids, started by Rachel and Harry

Greer. Judy suggested to John that they send a

check as a donation, John's idea was not only to

send a check but to volunteer to help with the tu-

toring program that Rachel's Kids provides for the

area's kids.

As the name implies, patients are treated compas-

sionately. The Compassion Clinic is open one

evening a week at Caritas Village in Binghampton.

All staff members, including Dr. Lang and Judy,

are volunteers. They have volunteer nurses, a vol-

unteer diabetic educator, volunteer medical inter-

preters and occasionally another volunteer doctor.

The volunteers listen to the patients and spend

quality time with each one.

The clinic is funded entirely through the pockets of

Dr. John and Judy Lang and donations from

friends, family, and local church groups. All dona-

tions are used for everything from medical sup-

plies to malpractice insurance. No one on the staff

is compensated for their volunteer service.

The Disciple Women's Fellowship group at Cen-

tral Christian Church, 531 S. Mclean, recently do-

nated $1,000 to the clinic. Rachel Greer, of

Rachel's Kids, had asked that Central's annual cold

and flu medicine drive be redirected from Rachel’s

Kids to the Compassion Clinic. Central took that

request one step further, and decide to donate the

profit from Central's Annual Election Bake sale

was earmarked to go to the Compassion Clinic and

the Lang's accepted the check during worship at

Central on November 11th.

The Compassion Clinic

Did you see the article by Michael Lollar in the Commercial

Appeal on Thanksgiving Day? The headline was “Santa’s

helpers: Reindeer deliver holiday magic to Rachel’s Kids”.

The article tells of the creation of model reindeer from logs

and sticks and twigs by children from the Binghampton area

and the sale of these models at Rachel’s Flower shop. All the

proceeds go to the child who made the Reindeer. The article

goes on to describe the great work done by Rachel and her

late husband Harry, for the families in the Binghampton area

and the contribution made by our church towards this. Our

church custodian Dorian Lyons is involved in this project.

There are great quotes from both Rachel and from Bill Rus-

sell together with a picture of Rachel, with two of the chil-

dren, cutting up branches to use as legs on the wooden Rein-

deer. Copies of the article are available in the church office.

Central Christian Church in the News

O f f i c e : 9 0 1 - 2 7 6 - 2 7 0 8 w w w . c c c m e m p h i s t n . o r g

c e n t r a l c h r i s t i a n @ c c c m e m p h i s t n . o r g

C e n t r a l C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h

531 S. McLean at Peabody-

Memphis, TN 38104-5102

Address Service Requested

T his M ont h A t Cent r al

Sunday, December 2 Regular Sunday Schedule

Wednesday, December 5

6:30 p.m. Dinner and Book Study

Sunday, December 9 Regular Sunday Schedule Wednesday, December 12 6:30 p.m. Dinner 7:00 p.m. Book study Thursday, December 13

6:30 Elders and Deacons Meeting 7:00 Board Meeting

Sunday, December 16

Regular Sunday Schedule Wednesday, December 19 6:30 p.m. Christmas Dinner 7:00 p.m. Book study

Sunday, December 23

Regular Sunday Schedule

There will be no program on Wednesday December 26

Serving, December 2

Worship Leader George Goodnight

Loaf John Johnson

Cup Carol Scarberry

Serving, December 9

Worship Leader Daphne Brown

Loaf Debra Goodnight

Cup Jack Artman

Serving, December 16

Worship Leader Mark Rutledge

Loaf Kathy Young

Cup Daphne Brown

Serving, December 23

Worship Leader Carol Scarberry

Loaf Mark Rutledge

Cup Debra goodnight

Diary Reminders

December Birth-

days

10th

Rachel Woodall 32*

26th

Amy Lindeman 32*

29th

Wynanda (Nanda)

Noordmeer 32*

Note: all ages are

approximate

December 25th

Christmas Day

Sunday, December 30

Regular Sunday Schedule

Wednesday, January 2 6:30 p.m. Christmas Dinner 7:00 p.m. Book study

Serving, December 30

Worship Leader Richard Brown

Cup Pat Hammond

Loaf Kathy Young